Just a few months ago, the British Conservatives had this year’s parliamentary election in their pockets. After more than ten years of Labour rule, Britons were tired with Gordon Brown while opposition foreman David Cameron lured as a fresh, “green right” alternative who promised to restore fiscal responsibility and British pride altogether.

The Conservatives polled at their best two years ago, scoring a 20 percent lead over Labour at the time. Since the end of last year however, their popularity has been on the decline.

While still set to win the elections, it appears unlikely that the Conservatives will manage to gain a majority. In the event of such a “hung parliament,” there is a good chance, writes Peter Oborne for the Daily Mail, that the Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third party, will end up keeping Labour in power.

The Liberal Democrats’ Nick Clegg has promised that if neither of his opponents win an overall majority in the House of Commons, he will support whichever collects the highest number of seats.

Most Liberal Democrats aren’t too enthusiastic about letting the Conservatives govern however. They oppose their intention to balance the budget through massive cuts in spending. Gordon Brown on the other hand has quietly suggested that he might be willing to consider electoral reform. Proportional representation is something the Liberal Democrats have long been dreaming of for it would undoubtedly allow them greaten their base of support.

All this talk of an alliance with Labour is something of a personal setback for Clegg. Under his leadership, the party has moved to the right and he would probably prefer to work alongside David Cameron instead Brown even as the rest of his party disagrees.